


Frostbite

by titusthemagi



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Alternate Universe - Tokyo Ghoul, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Anxiety Attacks, Awkward Flirting, Fluff and Angst, Gore, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Multiple Personality Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Build, Spoilers, mentions of abuse, shuuneki, tsukikane - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-16
Updated: 2016-03-15
Packaged: 2018-04-21 01:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4809110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/titusthemagi/pseuds/titusthemagi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaneki Ken is alone. Dead people stumble around, trying to eat him day and night, and he has some serious PTSD and MPD. Tsukiyama is also alone. He is radiant, and everything Kaneki has never had. His warmth bleeds through the rotting corpses surrounding him, but can Kaneki really let go of his past and thaw in the coldest winter yet. They decide to find out, as they search for answers, more survivors, and hope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Alone

**Author's Note:**

> Hey its Dani!  
> This is my first fic, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Sorry for any errs, I'll try my best to edit later chapters better. Eventually i'll introduce some more characters, and the rating will go up when i get around to some more gore, and fun! Have a great day, friends and enjoy the show!

It's been two years since the world was torn apart before his eyes.

  
Dark images of twisted bones, and missing fingers flashed under closed lids as the early morning sun filtered through tall trees that spiraled overhead, surrounding his "camp". The smell of blood jerked him awake in a panic as he sat up, searching wildly for one of them, grasping at the handgun beside him. Some called them Zombies, but a new name became popular in the early discovery of the virus, Ghouls. Decaying sculptures of former humans wandered tirelessly and lifelessly, as they searched for macabre snacks. Kaneki fit the menu perfectly and was a prime target, among the other fellow survivors scattered around the globe.

When he found no trace of any undead visitors, he relaxed slightly, and stretched his sore arms over his chest before taking inventory yet again. The outbreak reached Colorado suddenly while he was still at school so his collection of food (which consisted of three packets of saltine crackers,two boxes of raisins, and a can of beans) was less than meager.

Unlike the depressing lack of sustenance, his weapons department was quite acceptable. He managed to scrounge up a large gutting knife, two smaller knives, a handgun from a former cop with a few rounds of ammo, and a sharpened katana he found on the third day in some Otaku's house in the suburbs. His only other possessions were a small first aid kit taken off the wall of his school, a backpack, and his torn t-shirt and shorts. The thought that Hide would've loved the sword made him grimace. Kaneki's childhood friend got separated from him, by Ghouls when he was immobalised in his classroom by a fucking panic attack. Kaneki had lugged his own shaking body to his house, where he had locked himself in, unable to move. The unwanted memories flooded his senses but he rationalized himself so he didn't have another one now, cursing under his breath for his lack of medication.

He really just wanted to crawl into a hole. Kaneki normally had four pills a day for depression, and a slew of other things. He now looked like death itself with his disheveled white hair framing sunken cheeks and dark circles under wide, bloodshot eyes. Like he had years ago, when he was finally rescued, and taken away from that place. he felt the unwelcome pang of anxiety shrouding the corners of his mind. He wasted away in a room for years, but he was different now, He learned how to adapt to this cruel life quickly, and he now had to live, and find hope. Sadly, alone in the woods, surrounded by a world of Ghouls, was not the best place to look for it.

Kaneki packed up his supplies, and headed off in the direction of the highway. He ducked under the rigged alarm system (a sting with his bear-bell attached) before he untied it and placed it snugly in the side of his pack. He continued on for about 3 km before arriving at the empty stretch of highway. He turned left, and started off, hoping there would be somebody driving by, who could take him in.

…......

Just as he had expected an agonizing, four and a half hours later, not one car had passed down the previously bustling tarmac.  
His legs were sore and his feet were bleeding from walking in his crappy old shoes. he wanted to find a new camping spot as soon as possible, seen as he wasn't getting anywhere today.  
To his surprise, as if miraculously on cue, he spotted a gas station on the horizon, and started hap-hazardously, and madly running towards it.  
When he arrived at the 7-11, he was ecstatic to find it still contained a few useful items. He managed to scrounge a few lighters, water bottles, instant coffee, and a tacky Colorado sweater that he tied around his waist. Then he drank desperately at the new-found water and savored a packet of saltine crackers before he pulled out his katana once again, felt for the gun and knives at his hip, and sank down onto a stool he found behind the cash for a much needed break, massaging the scars around his ankles.

.........

  
Kaneki was woken up by the sound of the gas station door swinging open shakily. Ghouls. He cursed himself for staying for so long and started fading out, silently planning an escape. He had to be strong to survive. He had to win. Strike for the head, push past the group, and run into the woods. Just do it. He hesitated, then stood up abruptly and lunged over the counter, throwing himself at the at the figure before realizing, that this human was definitely, not dead.

The man turned around swiftly holding out a long makeshift spear. A light metal pole, with two serrated knives strapped on at either end. Kanekis sword was already slicing down, towards his shoulder, but the man thankfully blocked it with the spear. Kaneki stopped in his tracks, shocked, and started to back away, pushing himself into the counter.

The other man stepped forward slightly, determination plastered on his face. Kaneki was stunned. He had never expected to see such a flamboyant character in the apocalypse. Mystery guy had faded cool purple hair that fell perfectly over his face. His cheekbones were smeared with blood and his arms were covered in cuts. Kaneki scanned his eyes in awe, they were a deep purple color that stared wildly into his. Only then did he notice his garish red and purple jacket, and sleek black pants tucked into bright red combat boots. He was in an odd way, pretty attractive.

  
Kaneki snapped back to earth as the guy started to speak, his voice like silk, contrasting harshly against his words."What the fuck are you doing , monsieur?"

"Can you talk?" He asked sharply, the question flowed out of his mouth naturally, unlike Kaneki's nervous stammer that begun his reply.

  
"I-I was walking for hours, and fell asleep cooling off i guess.." His hand came up as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

  
The man sighed heavily and a new look crossed his face that Kaneki couldn't decipher. " Name, age, and can you fight?" The man crooned hesitantly, at kaneki. Still holding his weapon menacingly, coiled to strike.

  
"umm Kaneki Ken, i"m 18, and yeah i guess i can... I've been alone for a while. Luckily I made it out of the city at least physically intact, which is more than a lot of people can -or rather can't- say." He blurted out, heat rising to his cheeks at the last part. great first impression.

  
" Vraitment?" Purple-head gasped tragically. "mon Kaneki tu est trops petit pour ce neauvelle monde... Je suis tres desole mon amis"

  
Kaneki blushed even more and looked down. He had taken french class in school the previous year.

" Je suis desolee pour tout les personnes qui est entrappe dans cette mal reve." He half whispered, awkwardly.

  
Kaneki enjoyed the shock that spread across the others face.

  
"Quelle suprise? You are an odd one my dear kaneki-kun." Tsukiyama cried out swinging his spear around to his other hand, beaming at the younger boy.

"Je suis Tsukiyama Shuu, turning 19 next month, and I am sadly traveling alone too, you see I was visiting an art school here that I was going to transfer to from France, but alas the virus got out during my stay and now I get to enjoy the company of these dead Americans." He grimaced at kaneki from across the room.

  
"well, my-" Started Kaneki as they both heard the cries, and grunts of unwelcome visitors.  
They Spun around in unison and nodded in agreement that they would have to team up for the time being. Kaneki Balanced himself and pulled out a knife in one hand, his hair falling over his dirty face, and grasped his Katana tighter in the other.  
"I have my car parked outside. I got gas before i came in, so we should get pretty far before having to stop. If you want to come, run on a count of three..." Tsukiyama whispered leaning closer to the now tense kaneki.

  
"One"  
"Two"  
"Three"  
They burst out of the gas station, and started hacking at the undead spilling over from the highway. The pack wasn't too large, maybe 25 in all, but definitely not a good surprise.

  
Kaneki shifted to his right to avoid a bit and swung his sword down hard cutting the ghouls head clean off. He barreled left straight past the previous ghoul, and struck his knife into the back of another's head kicking the dead body off of the blade so he could continue on. Stab, Kick, slice, spin, dive, block, stab... "Almost there, another body, only a few more, Yamori!!! I thought you were going hard on me!" he cackled with a grin, spitting as he calculated his moves through wide, terrified eyes that couldn't be his...

Tsukiyama stabbed one Ghoul after the other spinning on his toes, jumping forward to sink his spear deeper into the mass of bodies.

He finally stepped out of the crowd into his car gracefully, before he turned on his heel and scanned quickly for Kaneki.

His breathing hitched.

He couldn't see the jumble of white hair and slicing limbs until the boy stumbled out of the madness, pushing two ghouls off of his blades. Tsukiyama let out a relieved sigh and yelled for him to hurry up and get in. Kaneki stepped inside the car, eyes glazed over, repeating something like... math?? Kaneki looked at shuu, his dark eyes pleading desperately, as he asked shakily "what's one thousand minus seven....?" before passing out of exhaustion sinking onto the seat, his head leaning on Tsukiyama's bloody shoulder. Tsukiyama wondered in horror what the kid had gone through to lose himself like that, before glancing back towards the horizon, as he pulled onto the open road.

  
For the first time in two months, he wanted to live.


	2. Sorry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kaneki, and Tsukiyama, set up a temporary camp off the highway. A few days later, in hopes to catch a lunch Tsukiyama sets more snares. Things don't go as planned, and tension grows between the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, sorry for not updating, my computer broke, but its all better, and I can now update regularly. The plan is a chapter will come out every week, sometimes maybe sooner or longer, but roughly one week. Please leave comments/reviews, and kudos if you like it! (I love suggestions) My tumblr is hydrozoa-kid, and I hope you enjoy the feels!

The van swerved on the road, rumbling gravel underneath old tires.  
It was four twenty three in the morning, and he had been driving since early evening the The sound of gunshots rang out in the cold night, and tsukiyama was jolted out of the deathly haze driving gave him. It wasn't unusual for him to drift off while driving so he tried his best to stir his settling thoughts. His sore hand reached up to sweep his lilac purple hair out of dark eyes in another half-hearted attempt to focus his vision . A sleepy gaze, now free from the fog of just having woken up shifted to the other body in the car, and his heart thumped in his chest at the sight of the white haired miracle perched lazily in the passenger seat.

  
His arm was tucked underneath his head, like a pillow, as he leaned back on the door delicate and innocent. Tsukiyama's own jacket was draped casually over the smaller boys chest, and he noticed the harsh contrast of red and purple, against the boy's pale skin. Kaneki ken looked harmless. Which is shocking compared to the previous day. Those still eyes had searched desparately for something in his own, and thinking about the brutally sad way he fought made his stomach twist. Kaneki chocked out a small desperate moan, barely audible, and caught Tsukiyama's ear.

  
"h-hid-de?..... I cant l-leave you... like th-th-this!"

  
A knot tangled in Shuu's heart, as he leaned closer to Kaneki.

  
"Don't... n-not yet! Touka, we can f-find a way..... just....I... wh-wh-what did he do to you?!"

  
Tsukiyama's face was scrunched up in horror, his eyes glued to the shaking boy who's face was dark, and pained. Frozen, the despair in Kaneki's voice hit him like a passenger jet. He reached out his arm and just as he was about to touch the dreaming figure, one last slurred whisper made him stop.

  
"R-Rize..why a-are you...... I do-don't deserve tthis!"

  
His hand dropped limply to his side and he stared out towards the road. he couldn't bring himself to break the silence that drowned the still air, and the chilling words rang in his ears over again. Soon he slipped back into the sleep-like concentration of driving, as the sun began to rise through the cracks of trees.

 

Daylight made dewdrops glisten on the grass around the highway when he felt a cold hand touch him gently, and then another as someone shook his shoulders. His eyes drifted open, and he realized he was laying, propped up in the back of his van. Through heavy lashes he made out icy grey eyes, and he noticed who the other man was. A lazy smile played on his lips as he shifted his shoulders, and sat upright. Slowly he hung his head and rubbed at his sore eyes before drifting his hands down to lay in his lap, still staring at the figure in front of him. Suddenly, his previously squinted eyes flew open wide, and he jolted a little, as he realized exactly how close, kaneki was.

  
" Wait... Kaneki?" Tsukiyama moaned out grogily, struggling to remember the early mornings events.  
"What happened, why aren't I driving.... shit, did I fall asleep?!"  
Kaneki stopped his worrying, by clarifying that they had run into a few walkers that wandered out in front of the truck. They hit two of them, and had to fight off the other five, before they cleaned off the frigid windshield.  
"Its alright." Mumbled kaneki. "you were exhausted from driving, so I took over. It was a long night, and yet we're still in the middle of nowhere..." He continued as Tsukiyama began to stretch out his cramped arm. He could barely believe that he had been so tired, he forgot the morning's events.

  
White noise washed through Tsukiyamas ears when he yawned with a pop, and was soon replaced by the snowy haired boy's rambling, once again.  
The next few days were uneventful, except for the setting of snares to catch food. They sat on some mossy boulders as they waited for their food, while the day's brightest sunlight hung down through the branches of trees just off the highway. In their lazy haze, they still kept an eye out, to make sure they wouldn't be caught by surprise again.  
"Tsukiyama, were you always alone?" Kaneki asked sheepishly.  
Purple eyes widened and flicked over to the younger boy, who had been silent most of the morning.

  
"Oui... It wasn't easy but, I couldn't bring myself to stay with any group I met." he said decidedly. "I thought that if I were alone, I couldn't hurt anyone... or have to see the people I care about die. But that's not how the world works anymore."  
He glanced over at Kaneki, and coolly tried to hide the hammering in his chest as he asked him the same.  
"no" was the answer and Tsukiyama looked genuinely surprised. "I had a few friends, my sister, and a girl we picked up on the way... I dont really know what happened, but, the girl we picked up, who looked harmless ended up letting ghouls into the camp, and making off with our car after a few months."

he sighed.

"It didn't turn out well for us, and i was separated from the group..."  
The dream.  
"Im sorry.."

he dared not say the names that he heard the night before, but instead pushed himself off the mossy rock to inspect the snares, double checking over his shoulder to make sure Kaneki was okay as he escaped the awkward tension. It seemed that neither of them had any social contact, in a while; at least not with anyone alive.  
Near the snare he heard struggling, and was ecstatic. Hopefully they would have a rabbit to fill their growling stomachs. Otherwise they would have to eat more of the dwindling canned beans and raisins.  
He closed in around a huge tree, and ran to his catch. His stomach aching at the thought of food.  
"u-uugghh... er--rrrr"  
His smile dropped as he skidded to a halt in the dirt, groping for his spear. His heart sank as he realized he left it at the rock. The ghoul looked up at him, rabbit fur sticking in clumps to the clotted blood that covered the lower portion of its face. Three more behind it. They now were looking up from their feast at the snare, and as directly as they could, at him.  
Tsukiyama turned his head back to the camp, looking for Kaneki. Shit, he must have gone to the washroom, because he wasn't perched on the moss anymore. He stumbled backwards, trying to get away from his pursuer, and find his fucking spear.With a painful yelp he tripped over a root and twisted his ankle. A panicking face crashed into the dirt, as his chest deflated. He stifled a cry and quickly inspected the damage. He found that he had a twig embedded in his side. FUCK...  
"K-KANEKI!' he cried out, tears brimmed his eyes as he palmed the blood at his waist. His foot lodged in-between two rocks.  
He frantically returned his gaze to the ghouls who were closing in on him.  
"Help!"  
He grasped at the ground and felt around for a stick, a rock, anything! When suddenly a blade flashed in front of his eyes and took the first ghouls head off. Then a figure sprinted behind it, and stabbed the blade through the next ghoul, pulling it out to slice through the last two's necks in one fluid motion.  
In his panic, before he realized what had happened. He felt arms wrap around his torso, and heavy breath on his neck. he closed his eyes and pulled Kaneki closer, without thinking about it.  
he heard a whisper pass through the boys shaking lips.

"It almost happened again."  
The grim figure stood up, and he realized that this was the same thing as the day before.  
kaneki's eyes looked glassy, and dark. His innocent figure was replaced by a creepily uncharacteristic stance. He began to laugh as if he suddenly thought of an old joke.  
"It's only a matter of time Shuu." He spat weakly.  
"see now, this is what happens when I get too close to people....I cant protect them. I couldn't even protect myself!"  
"And you could just eat me up couldn't you!" He chuckled. "he already tried that, so I would advise you not."  
Seeing the boy getting more frantic, Shuu shakily stood up wincing at the pain in his side, and stepped towards the boy.  
Kaneki now calmly looked at the older boy's eyes, tears dripping down his face.  
Tsukiyama reached out, and pulled Kaneki into a desperate hug, holding onto the fabric of his shirt with one hand, and stroking his back with the other.  
"no. Im still here, look at me, kaneki, you saved me." It came out as a whisper that managed to calm the tense Kaneki down beneath him.  
The smaller figure, fully relaxed under his body, and started to sob. He ran his hand through Shuu's purple hair, and then, pulled back suddenly, as Shuu cried out in pain and sat back down roughly.  
At the sight of him, the boy pieced his way through the fog in his mind and came back to his senses, wincing as he looked down at Tsukiyama's injury. shit shit shit shit shit it looks bad. Nothing that could kill him, but he needed to clean it out before Shuu would get an infection. determination filled his head, as he bent down, and picked an injured Shuu up bridal-style.  
"ouch, what are you doing kaneki!!" Shuu yelled out, his eyes widening at the unexpected transportation.  
"I can do this myself, can you even carry me!!"  
"You are obviously in no condition to walk right now, so please just let me do this." Kaneki stated calmly. "It's my fault that this happened to you!" he paused. "I forgot to set up the bell!"  
He started off towards their makeshift camp, suppressing his surprise when Tsukiyama leaned his head on his shoulder, gripping his shirt in pain.

When they arrived at camp, Kaneki set the taller man down on the "bed" in the back of the van, and quickly gathered the medical supplies they had. He realised that he had to take off tsukiyama's jacket, and shirt to reach the injury, and couldn't help blushing a little, hoping that he wasn't looking. He unzipped his jacket and peeled it off shuu's frame, being careful not to disturb the embedded stick. His shirt was more difficult. Kanki leaned over the man, and first, slid the shirt off the stick, which had stabbed through it, then he proceeded to pull the shirt over his head. He could now see Tsukiyama's defined chest as it moved with his heavy breathing.  
Tsukiyama exhaled sharply, thorugh gritted teeth as Kaneki wiped off the blood covering the wound.  
"I have to pull it out Tsukiyama, I'm sorry, but It's going to really hurt." Kaneki chocked out wincing at the guilt of having to cause Shuu any more pain.  
"J-J-Just, get it over with" Shuu gasped, as he grabbed Kaneki's free hand with his own.  
With no time for embarrassment at their peculiar pose, Kaneki straddled tsukiyama's hips, preparing to remove the stick that was lodged in a good three inches  
"One, two, three-" Kaneki pulled sharply, closing his eyes, so he didn't have to watch Shuu's reaction.  
"Ahn- ah-a- f-fuck!" Tsukiyma yelped, gripping Kaneki's hand tightly, and writhing under his weight.  
Kaneki put the stick down, and grabbed the rubbing alcohol. He poured it over the wound, and Shuu winced agin, feeling the sharp sting.  
Kaneki carfully wrapped a bandage around Tsukiyama's waist, to suppress the bleeding in his side, and then leaned up slightly, still straddling the now calmer mans hips. After wiping his brow in exhaustion, he found a faint smile on Shuu's lips. He smiled back gazing at purple eyes, with his own half lidded grey ones.  
Kaneki looked down, and rubbed a spot of blood off of the side of Tsukiyama's hand, before starting to talk.  
"I'm so sorry, Tsukiyama-san"  
Shuu looked up towards the pale angel, and felt a pang in his chest.  
"There's nothing to be sorry for, Kaneki-kun"  
"No, I shouldn't have lashed out at you. It's just that I have really bad PTSD from... events before the virus. I also have.... some personality problems when I fight, and I forget even who my friends are... I just don't want to hurt you." His glassy eyes flicked to Tsukiyama's own, as he finished.  
"You've done nothing wrong, kaneki-kun." He squeezed Kaniki's hand in his own.

"Call me Shuu." Tsukiyama crooned, faking composure. "You don't have to be so formal with me"  
"But we just met-" Kaneki started.  
"I feel like I've Known you for longer, thats all." Tsukiyama sighed, before winking.  
"Y-You can call me Ken, I guess." Kaneki trailed off, not noticing the pleased look on Shuu's face.  
"Alors, does this count as a first date?" Tsukiyama teased breathlessly. His smile morphing into a playful smirk.  
"What?" Kaneki sang half-heartedly. "Why would you say something like that, Shuu..." He blushed light pink and looked away, unable to answer in the usual icy tone.  
Tsukiyama's eyes trailed down dramatically, towards their interlocked fingers, and provocative pose, as if to prove a point.  
Kaneki blushed deeper, leaning back, away from the oh-so smooth Shuu.  
"Anyways, how do you know if i'm even into guys?" There was an unintentional force to his voice that took Tsukiyama by surprise.  
"I think I'ts petty obvious mon cheri, you haven't stopped staring at me since we first met."


	3. In Your Dreams

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry i havent update, its been pretty rough at home but i have the next few chapters ready to go!!!

A shiver ran through Kaneki's body, when the night's breeze tugged at his gaudy yellow Colorado sweater. He shrugged the pilled, but still soft fabric back up with his hands, to cover his collarbones, and moved closer to the crappy fire in front of him. In the dark, it was also his only source of good light. His fingers rubbed at the blood, and dirt smudged on his skin, and he wished they had stopped at a pond before the snare incident.  
They got enough water to drink from a crappy water collection set up they made in the ground. It consisted of a large hole, with a can in the center, and a plastic tarp overtop. When they put the stone in the middle, the evaporated water would collect on the tarp and drip into the can. It was a slow proccess, and they soon wouldn't be able to use it when frost hit.  
The chill of fall came fast in the month they had now been together, and they hadn't been able to search for a better shelter, seen as Tsukiyama was still recovering from his accident. They wouldn't wan't to rush into things and get caught by a pack of ghouls. He let out a small sigh, as he remembered the struggle they faced a few weeks earlier.  
After the incident, they generally layed low. Very few walkers wandered past, and they hadn't needed to leave the camp at all. They mostly sat around the fire, while Tsukiyama talked about stupid things he did as a kid, or personal things like what kind of food he likes. Kaneki, on the other hand, was still as introspective as always. He didn't mean to come off as cold, and detached, its was just all to fast for him to catch up socially, the way Shuu did.   
And now they were running out of food.  
Hist stomache groaned, as he thought about the last meal he had shared with his apocalypse partner.  
Oh dear god Kaneki, not partner.  
The discarded rabbit bones were resting in the crackling fire, the leftover fat sizzled and made his mouth water. Kaneki wiped his hands on his pants, looked out away from the trailer, and towards the snares. He wasn't sure if he should reset the snares alone or not, seen as normally Tsukiyama would accompany him. The thought reminded him that Mr.purple wonder was sleeping in the trailer. He needed his rest to get better, so they could finally scavenge for more supplies, thus kaneki decided against waking him up for the snares.  
Instead he went to the trailer to see how Tsukiyama's injury was healing.  
The man was eccentric, and extroverted, but Kaneki was a lot more shy about this sort of thing, especially after what Shuu had said last time. His cheeks, which were already reddened from the cold, blushed even more as his heart fluttered. He couldn't beleive there was someone out there, who would question the romantic nature of having a fucking shank wounnd bandaged up. What he believed less, was the fact that, he was right next to him.  
He flicked on a light, and With a curious glace, he bent down and leaned over the peacefull, yet somehow stll vibrant, mess that was Shuu. Peeling the blanket down to his hips, first, he checked the exterior of the bandage. This was done by pulling up his shirt slightly, and looking for any visible bleeding. Nope. Then he moved up to Shuu's face, pressing a hand to his forehead to check for a fever. No again. At least he didn't have an infection. Lastly he pulled the blanket off of Shuu's legs, and slid the left pant-leg up to inspect his ankle. The swelling had gone down, to his relief, and the bruise was fading from a black-ish purple, to an even sicklier looking yellow. He traced his fingers along the edges of the blight carefully, being sure to keep his touch as light as possible. The sprain was bad, but with a makeshift pair of crutches Kaneki made in his free time, he could stll get around. As long as he was careful that is.  
kaneki yawned, unaware of how tired he had been. He'd stayed up for nearly twenty four hours while tsukiyama has been sleeping. As he slowly started to lose consciousness, a groggy voice caught him by suprise.  
"It's okay. You can rest... Just lock the door, and put out the fire..."  
Shuu fell back asleep before he could finnish, so Kaneki did as he was instructed, then sank down onto the bed.  
They usually took turns sleeping, and keeping watch, but in the cold, the dead werent that fast, and posed somewhat less of a threat.  
This was the first night they would sleep at the same time, and kaneki's heart jumped in his chest as the other man pressed himself close to him. He felt hot breath on the back of his neck, as their legs intertwined and he felt his body warm up. The cold late-fall air had left him uncomfortable all day, but in the close quarters of the small bed, it was heaven. He fell into a deep, peacefull sleep, as his mind clouded up with the warm feeling of touching another human, again.  
And then the nightmare came.  
It all ways came into focus like a wave. First, his eyes would be welcomed by darkness that writhed and crawled on his skin. His joints would crack and ache as he would move against the restraints that bound him to a deep red -stained chair. An unnerving, sugar-sweet voice would whisper in his ear as he looked down, at his sister.   
Touka layed dead on the floor in a pool of crimson. Her face was pale and the blood tricked from a deep stab in her chest.  
He would struggle to get to her, to hold her, but he couldnt move. His vision would tunnel up to the man's face. It was your choice, he would mouth, then pick up Touka's body roughly, and carry it away as he walked into the dark abyss.  
It showed him scratching the scarred skin around his wrists, the black dripping out of his hair and mixing with the puddle of blood on the checkered floor, before a gunshot rang out in the small room.  
His eyes shot up, wildly looking ahead of him him, and expecting to see Yamori. It was always Yamori.  
This time it wasn't.  
This time he didn't feel the bullet enter his stomache.  
Blood seeped through a white suit, and Kaneki instantly recognised the new character when he fell to his knees facing away from him, nearly touching his feet.  
Tsukiyama.  
The unspoken word made dream-Shuu flich and turn to him, quicly reaching for the restained Kaneki recklessly, holding his wound with the other hand.  
Kaneki only heard the second gunshot as red filled his vision.  
And it was over.  
Kaneki slid up to a sitting position, held up by one arm. His right hand was pressed against his forehead, as he panted, shaking in the dark.  
"Bad dream?" A smooth voice questioned, and he froze.  
He pulled his arm away from his face and peered down at the skyward-facing man next to him. The panic from the nightmare must have been clear to see, even as he tried to hide it.   
He could still imagine pooled blood on tsukiyama's torso.  
"I guess." His reply hung awkwardly in the still air, and soon he felt a hand wrap around his waist, and pull him gently towards the matress.  
"If you cant fall asleep, do you want to hear a story?" The wide awake Shuu suggested.  
He was met with a nod as Kaneki cautiously slipped the blanket back up to his shoulders, and snuggled, into his friend's arms.  
"Once upon a time, there was a young prince, who lived with his mother and father in a huge castle. It was the biggest mansion you'd ever see, and he loved every part of it. Especially the library and, while, he had lived with his mom and dad, he didn't see them all that often. They were always busy with things that were more important than him-"  
"Can you tell a happier story, shuu?" Kaneki groaned, not in the mood for tragedy.  
"Shhh, try to sleep, it will get better for him." Tsukiyama assured, before starting again.  
"Instead he was raised by a nanny who loved him very much, and even though he was lonely, she cheered him up, and was his friend. he loved her more than his own mother, and they were a happy family. One day, when the prince grew up, he heard of a dragon, that was terrorising a nearby town. His parents were fearful that the dragon would burn down the castle, and they would have nothing left, so they ordered the prince to stay out of danger. That night, he decided that he had to leave and slay the dragon, so his parents would be happy. He said goodbye to his nanny, and snuck out the window at midnight. When he had long escaped the castle, a low rumble was heard from the nearby town, and a billowing pillar of green fire erupted from behind the nearby mountain. The dragon had come. He was too far away to help, as the fire consumed his old town, and he out of fear, and regret, ran away to a far off land, where he waited for the dragon, to get revenge-"  
He noticed that Kaneki was drifting off, so he decided to save the rest for another day, and insted busy himself with rubbing circles into kaneki's hand.  
He sighed as he propped his chin up on his pillow, and contemplated the events of the past month. Although their current position could be seen as extremely intimate for such a sudden friendship. Sharing such harsh experiences as they had together had blurred the edges of normal relationships. While Kaneki was still distant, and quiet, he had opened up to him quite a bit, which was a relief.  
He studied the lines of kaneki's face, before he retracted his hand, and circled his arms around the sleeping, and unnaware figure, hugging him in a soft embrace.  
A sudden realisation hit him as kaneki moved in his sleep to face away from him, their bodies now pressed together for warmth.  
"Une neuveaux chapter begins..." He whispered to himself.  
..........  



	4. Gunshots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> unedited as usual, but its here!!!

Kaneki drifted awake when something warm left his back. He grumbled a bit to himself and rolled around, tugging at the warm blanket, to find the missing source.  
"Ken, I have to get up, can you let go of my arm?"  
Kaneki now knew what the lost comfort was, and didnt plan on letting it leave. he always had a tendancy to get cold easily, which would lead Hide to joke that he was really cold blooded, and shouldn't live in freezing canada. He scootched closer to Shuu, pulling his arm closer to his chest.  
"Its too early, Shuu! I'm still tired, so you have to keep me warm..."  
Tsukiyama reluctanly peeled Kaneki's death grip off of him, and fumbled out of bed, for once embarrased at their proximity. He began to talk as Kaneki sighed and sat up, wrapping the covers around himself in a cocoon.  
"I've been completly useless this past week, so you can sleep in. I'm just going to check out how much gas, and food whe have left, I'll be back soon, okay?"  
he got a mumble in reply, and took it as an answer. He never imagined that Kaneki would be this bad a morning person, but it didnt really bother him at all. A smile even crept up his face as he put on his jacket, and carefully wrapped up his bad foot. He quickly got ready to go, then grapped his spear and leaned on it as he found his way out of the van.  
He put most of his weight on the spear as he removed the brush covering their gas cans and food, a few meters away from the fire pit.  
Well, only gas cans now.  
"oh, shit, I forgot."  
His stomach dropped as he hobbled as gracefully as possible, over to the fire pit.  
The last can of food was laying by the fire, and he remembered they were supposed to eat it the night before, and discuss a plan to get more supplies. he had slept in though, and ken was kind enoough not to wake him up.  
Now their food problem was all-too real, and would have to be sorted out.   
He quietly wished that they could stay in the relative safety of their camp, but a supplies-run at least, was inevitable. As winter was approaching, it would soon be difficult to live off of just hunted food.  
He stuffed the can into his jacket, and sauntered back over to the van. He would have to wake Ken up again seen as the situation was dire. They would have to leave soon, if they hoped to get anywhere.  
He opened the door, and shivered as he was greeted by the warm air inside the small haven.  
Crouching down next to Ken, being sure not to put too much weight on his ankle, he slowly shook the sleeping beauty's shoulder.  
It apparantly wasn't enough to rouse him from his deep sleep, so Shuu tried talking to him.  
"Kaneki-kun, we have to get going soon. Please get up, you cant still be THAT tired."  
His lipps just grazed Kaneki's ear as he whispered in a lower voice.  
"What am I going to do with you..."  
He paused.  
"Please don't sleep much longer, we can't afford to waste time like this-"  
A Sleepy voice inturrupted, which was reassuring.  
"...fiiiiine, I'll get up..."  
Kaneki shifted, before propping himself up on his elbows with both eyes closed.  
He opened one eye, and tsukiyama was given the meanest look kaneki could muster, which wasn't all that intimidating.  
"What's the problem, anyways?" He groggily moaned, now pulling his legs in to sit, facing Tsukiyama. There was a cold expression on his face that was to further show his attitude towards his lack of sleep.  
"Well, I'll keep it short, seen as we have to leave soon-"  
Kaneki straightened up a bit, the dark haze leaving his steel eyes.  
"-But, we have to make a supply run today, or find camp in a building somewhere. We have close to no food left, and with winter approaching, we need to make sure we have a solid stock ready."  
Kaneki looked shocked.  
"We can still hold on a few days, right?"  
"We can't."  
"You need more time to heal... How are we supposed to do a food run, and fend off ghouls, when you can barely walk?"  
"I've already decided to go, I can defend myself, and I've got you as well Kaneki!"  
"What if i can't!"  
"I won't let you starve, while we wait around for my injuries to heal, we don't have enough time."  
A sigh escaped Ken's mouth, and he looked at Shuu with an unclear emotion, before flicking back to his blank expression.  
"Ken, we can make it I'm sure... I don't want to go either but it's what has to be done to survive. You understand how important that is now days."  
"Okay.... If this is w-what you think we need, I'll protect you."  
Kaneki nodded with that and stood up, the blanket falling at his ankles.  
He walked over to where Shuu was sitting, and reached out a hand. It brushed through purple hair, before he let it fall.  
"We should get the van set up." He murmmered.  
"Oui."  
................  
A half hour later, they were sitting in the front seats, pulling out onto the highway, while the gas cans in back sloshed with every bump. Shuu broke the silence. Gesturing to the useless electronics in front of him.  
"I missed the radio..." The solar panel he scavenged from an electronics retailer no one had bothered to ransack, was just strong enough to charge the car battery.  
Ken, lifted his head up from where it resided on the door of the van, and made a questioning humm.  
"You like american pop?" Kaneki prodded.  
"Well, the music was pretty bad before all of this shit, but it would have been better than nothing." Shuu continued. "I mean, back when I was alone, there was nothing-nobody to distract me. I just wanted to feel human again..." He looked over at Kaneki, his somehow still perfect eyebrows furrowed in concentration.  
He relaxed when he caught Kaneki's gaze. "I guess I really just needed this to remind me there's still life in this world." His genuine smile graced the corners of his lips, and Kaneki maintained his fixated stare, cold grey eyes analysing his complex behaviour. Realisation hit him, and he softened, looking down, and blushing.  
"Im glad."  
Shuu's mouth opened and closed, as if he were about to say something, then decided against it. His hands shifted on the steering wheel, and he moved back in his seat, before glacing back over at the man on his right.  
"Me too."  
"That story you were telling me last ni-"  
A bloodcurdling scream resonated over the hum of the van, and the hissing glow of fire flashed behind a prince's eyes.  
They both jolted in their seats, Kaneki looked frantically out of the windows for the source of the sound, while Tsukiyama stopped the car.  
Silence. Not a sound...  
A shattered cry wretched through the silence, and they both whipped their attention to the left.  
It was closer this time. Kaneki held his breath and rummaged for his gun. Shuu pulled out his spear from beside the seat, and whispered.  
"What do we do... They might be bit."  
"we have to at least see what's going on, they might be an ally!" Ken whispered back clumsily.  
They both eyed the forest intensily, niether daring to move an inch. The silence chiseled away thir hope into restlessnes, as they stayed like that.  
A gunshot, then more screaming.  
"Shit Ghouls are gonna be all over this place soon!" Kaneki yelped, staring at the unmoving Shuu impatiently.  
"There!" Suu pointed to where two people burst out of the woods, confused, and frantic.  
One was short, and looked pretty young, while the other was tall and had a mess of dark hair.  
Another gunshot, then the two bolted down the highway towards the van, looking behind them like they were being pursued.  
"fuck, what's going on?" Shuu cursed, shifting his weight to only his good foot, and looking out the dusty glass of the window.  
The two runaways, noticed the runninng car, and madly rushed towards it for life. A few stray ghouls were now collecting where they once stood near the woods.  
Barely thirty seconds later, the tall one was waving his arms at Tsukiyama.  
"Hey, you in the van, help us, these assholes are fucking insane!!"  
"Great, a sailor." thought kaneki.  
"Please!" A small voice cried out, and Kaneki noticed she couldn't have been older than twelve.  
"Shuu, i think one of them's a kid... We've got to hear them out..."  
Shuu nodded, and took the gun Kaneki was offering.  
"Stay here, Ill go see what their deal is.... If anything goes wrong i want you to take the van, and drive away as fast as you can. You cant afford losing it."  
"I won't leave you behind!"  
"Worst case scenario, these guys are cannibals. Theres no such thing as thinking too far ahead."  
"Good luck..."  
"I'll be back soon, princess!" Tsukiama smirked, satisfied with how red kaneki's face was, as he stuttered out a soft "S-Shuu, thats not funny!"  
He swung the door open, and held the gun out in front of him with his right arm, leaning on his spear with his other. He not-so-gracefully jump down, and shut the door behind him.  
He took a few heavy steps toward the pair, and called after them.  
"Name, age, and why you're freaking the fuck out!" He sounded dangerous, and intimidating, contrary to the gentel way he handled Ken. To the younger man, it didn't sound like shuu at all.  
His heart thudded in his chest, as he felt a wave of nasea, then anxiety.  
"Please, be carefull, shuu." he breathed, surprised he was able to say anything, he was so panicked.  
Then the answers came.  
"I'm Ayato, age 16, and she's hinami, 14." The taller one yelled back. Still madly checking over his shoulder, and holding the younger one close.  
"We're the only people to escape that hell-hole Aogiri, and now they're pissed as fuck."  
"What's wrong with this "Aogiri"?" Shuu questioned menacingly.  
"Do you really want to stick around and find out, asshole? They take anyone they find, and you do not want to run into them as unarmed as you are!"  
"Unarmed??" Thought Kaneki, "he's holding a gun at their heads, and they say we're unarmed?"  
Silence again, that lasted not longer then a second, befor tsukiyama called.  
"Get in the fucking van, and well let you stay until you're clear of whatever place this is."  
"Thank you sir, you have no idea what they would've done to us..." Hinamy shouted.  
Tsukiyama just then, noticed the tears rolling down her face, and they began to run to the backdoor of the van. Tsukiyama opened it, telling Kaneki to be on guard, then went back to the front seat, as their new companions entered.  
The two caught their breath as Tsukiyama started driving again, Kaneki giving them a chillingly cold stare. The air was tense, but they were in no condition to answer questions, so Shuu let them have their peace.  
When there were no more sobs or, huffs of breath. Shuu began to asses the situation.  
"Whats wrong with where, you came from?"  
The two kids stiffened, and hinamy started to choke out a sentance.  
"T-t-there were these o-officers and t-they, they were monsters...." The difficulty in her finishing the sentance was enough of an answer.  
He sobbed into ayato's Shirt, and started to pull at a collar around her neck that was previously unnoticed. Ayato had one two, and they didn't look comfortable.  
The boy then spoke, sharply in the musk of the van. His eyes wide with something like disbelief.  
"We were next."


End file.
